Pneumatic hub.



' H. B. BIGSBY & W. M. LEWIS.

PNEUMATIC HUB. APPLICATION FILED APR. 18, 1912.

Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

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HUBER! B. BIGSBY AND WILLIAM M. LEWIS, OF NEW. HARTFORD, IOWA.

PNEUMATIC HUB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Feb. 4, 1913.

Application filed April 18, 1912. Serial No. 691,554. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that We, HUBERT B. BIGSBY and WILLIAM M. Lnwls, citizens of the United States, residing at New Hartford, in the county of Butler and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPneumatic Hubs; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to pneumatic hubs; and it consists of certain novel features of construction and combination and arrangement of parts as will he more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings; Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of a hnb constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig.2 is a central vertical cross section of the same taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a similar view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. l is a side clcva tion of the cushion tube of the. hub, v

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 denotes the lmb box on which is secured a centrally disposed bearing disk 2 the periphery of which is groovcd and has arranged at. intervals therein a scrics of depressions 3, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. The disk '1 is prcl'- erably secured to the box 1 by slop collars 4, said collars being lastcncd in position on the box by set screws 5. Also mounted n the box on opposite sides ol" and at suitabhdistances from the disk 2 are annular stop plates (3, said platesbeingprcl'crably secured in position on the l)o.\' by collars T. which in turn are fastened to the box by set r-clcws 8 as shown.

So much of the hub as has been described may be said to constitute the core lhcrcol'.

The shell or outer portion ol' the hub couc prises a spoke ring ll grooved on its inner edge and formed in the groove with a H- ries of depressions l2: and two like conical members l0 at opposite sides oi said ring. each having an outwardly projecting llangc 13 around its larger cdgc attached to said ring by bolts 9 which pass through it and through both flanges. aml from the latter the conical bodies 10 of these numbers di verge away from the ring so as to give space for the cushioning member hereinafter dc scribed. In the ring it and spaced apart at suitable intervals are sockets 14 which are adapted to receive the inner ends of the spokes 15.

Around the disk 2 and between the grooved periphery thereof and the grooved Inner edge of the spoke ring 11 is an endless pneumatic tube 16 which may be formed of rubber or any other suitable flexible fluid tight material. The tube It; when in an inverted position will closely engage the pe riphery ot the disk 2 and the inner edge of the ring It and will thus form a yielding connection or cushion between the ring 11 and the disk ()n the outer surface of the tube 16 around the outer and inner sides of the tube are formed series of lugs or projections 17 and 1 The lugs 17 on the inner side of the tube are adapted to engage and fit into the recesses l in thc grooved periphery of the disk while the lugs 15 on the outer side of the tube tit into the recesses 12 in the grooved inner edge of the ring 11 as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the. drawings. 'lhc lugs 17 and ls when thus engaged with the depressions 3 in the disk 2 and ring 11 form stops which provide a positive engagcmcnt between the disk and the tube and between the tu e and the ring 11, tlfus preventing the shell of the hub which carrics lhc spokes from slipping around on the core and which. when the lmb is employed in connection with a driving wheel, t'orm driving connections or elements as will be readily understood.

The smaller cdgcsot' the conical members It) carry inwardly projecting annular llangcs l! to which at '25 arc bolted inner aml outer stop rings 20 and '21 which are disposed on opposite sides oi and close to the stop plates (3 on the box 1 ol the hub. The cngagcmcnt of the rings :20 and ll with the opposite sides of the stop plates (3 limits or prevents any longitudinal movement of the shell on the core and prevents the pneumatic lubev or cushion 1(3 from becoming dislocated or thc ring ll from becoming disengaged from the tube.

The inner and outer ends of the. hub are t'ornu-d by conicaly shaped casings .22 on the inner ends of which are annular flanges i l which are boltcd to the outer sides of the rings 2t, preferably by the bolts 25 which attach said rings and the rings 20 to thc llangcs lJ on the conical nuunbcrs of the shell. The outer ends ot' the conical casings 22 of the hub have thereon tubular hub bands 24 which embrace the ends of the box 1 of the hub as shown.

' By constructing the hub as herein shown and described it will be readily seen that the spokes and rim of the wheel are yieldingly supported and will be permitted to give or yield under pressure and that shocks and jars caused by the passage of the wheel over rough uneven surfaces or obstructions will be absorbed or taken up by the cushioning tube 16 thus relieving the axles and body of the vehicle from -said shocks. It will be understood that the rings 20 and 21 of the shell of the hub which engage the stop plates 6 on the box of the hub, while' preventing the lateral movement of the shell will not interfere wit-h the radial or yielding movements as the central openings in the rings 20 and 21 are sufliciently large to allow for this yielding or radial movement.

- From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details ofconstruetion may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invent-ion as claimed.

Having thus described our invention,

what we claim is;

The herein described pneumatic hub, the same comprising a core made up of a hub box, a disk fixed on the center thereof and having in its periphery a groove with a series of depressions in its bottom, stop plates on the box at opposite sides of the disk, and collars holding said plates and disks in position; a shell made up of a ring to which the spokes are attached, the inner periphery of the ring being grooved and pro ided in its groove with a series of depressions, conical members on opposite sides of said ring and having outwardly projecting flanges at their larger ends bolted to the ring and inwardly projecting flanges at their smaller ends, stop rings bolted to opposite sides of the inwardly projecting flange of each of said members and standing astride one of said stop plates in the core, and. two like conicalcasings, each having a flange projecting outward from its larger end and bolted to the outermost stop ring and a tubular hub band projecting axi ally from its smaller end and surrounding the end of said box; and a cushioning member disposed between the outer periphery of said disk and the inner periphery of said spoke ring and shaped to .fit the grooves and depressions in these members.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HUBER-T B. JBIGSBY. WILLIAM M. LEWVISQ 

